Hello Tom, I also have Mesnards which I'm always chasing after. I have a Georges Meinard * abt1633 or 1651 St Martin de la Brusque, France x Jeanne Ascot * abt 1637, Provence, France. They had three children: Jean Mesnard * abt 1659, Provence, + bef 1692, Drakenstein, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa x Louise Corbonne + 1689, daughter of NN Carbonne and Maria Anthouarde Andre Meinard * abt 1660, Provence x Honorade Roumanne * abt 1656, Provence Philippe Meinard *abt 1662, Provence, France It would appear that Jean would have been living in Provence around 1677-1683. Georges Meinard probably came from Saint Martin de la Brusque. Jean Mesnard became the founder of the Mesnard family in South Africa. The name became corrupted to "Minnaar," as it is still used to this day. Philippe was a very common name in the Minnaar family. These Mesnards are counted as Huguenots today, but they were actually of the Waldensian faith. They came to South Africa from Holland as French refugees in 1688 on a ship called the "China" (erroneously known as the "Berg China" in most history sources). Their escape from France was a most dramatic one under the most dreadful circumstances. Apparently their flight took them to Holland, from whence they boarded the ship for South Africa. Even this last voyage was one of those nightmarish passages in which there was much drama and many people died. From the bits and pieces known about this family's flight from France, it seems clear that their life story would have been deserving of an epic book or film if only they had kept a detailed diary. Jean Mesnard set out for freedom with 9 children, plus some of his friends and in-laws, but of his family, all died but one little 11 year old boy, Philippe Mesnard. Little Philippe was left an orphan not terribly long after their arrival in Cape Town. He was raised by other Huguenots from Saint Martin de la Brusque. He later married another Huguenot daughter, Jeanne Moy and became the ancestor of all the South African Mesnards. The Mesnard history in South Africa alone, is rather romantic and filled with high adventure and drama. I have often wondered whether they may have left traces of their presence in Saint Martin de la Brusque. I hope to be able to go an search there one day. Along with the Mesnard, it seems that there were other Huguenot families-all of which are major South African families today. Families such as Roux (Rousse), Joubert (Jaubert), Malan, Jourdaan (Jourdan), etc. Here also, there appears to be Waldensian connections. They all arrived together in the China. I suspect that they must have mostly come from the same region in France. Perhaps they were all friends. In some cases, there are clues which makes one suspect that some of these families may have been related. If you see even a vaguely possibly connection, I'd like to hear from you. I sometimes get a very vague impression that some of "my" more immediate Mesnard family might possibly have crossed over to America at the time that rest of the clan went to Africa. All sorts of vague clues, but little fact. Still, the truth is probably out there. We all just need to find it. As it turned out, the move to Africa was probably a very good idea. Times were stormy, but on the whole, I think all of these families prospered and flourished at the Cape more than they ever would have in France. Regards, Herman Labuschagne --> (Yes, "Labuschagne" is another Huguenot connection-original spelling "De la Buscagne") Johannesburg, South Africa [email protected] ginal Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 22 September 2003 05:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [HWE] First Timer Thanks for what you do ! My cousin is visiting me in the USA from France and we read a few recent inquiries that urges him to ask for help in finding data on Philippe Mesnard/Philippe Mesnard d' Ayre. of the area Saintongue, France. He was a French Minister married to Francoise Guenon. My cousin would make a good contact for anyone with help. Thanks. From Tom Genung [email protected] ==== HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE Mailing List ==== Website for the Huguenots-Walloons-Europe list at: http://www.island.net/~andreav/index.html Lots of information, links to other sites, surnames list. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237